Melissa Schapiro
Blog
Mortgage Rates Take a Dip
Most folks interested in real estate know that the market has definitely shifted since last year, with mortgage rates rising and fewer buyers rushing to outbid one another. But we have some good news -- interest rates eased up a bit this week. This from a...
Thanks for a successful 2022 in real estate
The year 2022 was a good one for Bellingham real estate! I enjoyed working with home buyers and sellers, across the real estate spectrum: from vacant land, starter homes and historic character homes to new construction and luxury homes. I love meeting new people,...
Taking the Long View in Real Estate
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Realtors, locally and elsewhere, have been noting a "shift" in the market the last couple of months. As listing brokers, we had gotten used to putting a house on the market, setting a review date, and having...
Drone Tour: 1773 Oyster Creek Lane, Bow
Panoramic ocean and mountain views greet you from the cleared home at 1773 Oyster Creek Lane, Bow. These 20 acres are nestled between Samish Bay and Oyster Dome, just one mile uphill from the Oyster Bar,...
Bluegrass Festival at Hovander Homestead Park
One of my favorite Whatcom County parks is Hovander Homestead, in Ferndale. It’s a beautiful home finished in 1903, and includes an enormous barn, next to the Nooksack River. I’ve taken the tour of this home so many times and have a fantasy of someday building a place...
Putting in an Offer
So, you are ready to buy a home. You’ve been working with a Realtor, looking at properties, and are ready to put in an offer. How does it work? Well, it is nothing like on TV. We can’t just make a phone call, and tell you that they’ve accepted your offer. Real estate...
Get pre-approved!
How do you know what you can buy? Unless you have unlimited cash funds, you will need to get a loan to purchase a property, and the type of loan, and loan amount, will determine what properties you should be looking at. Looking at properties that you can’t afford is...
Water is the new gold
After listening to a speaker about rainwater catchment systems, I started thinking about the movie, The Big Short. There is a connection here, I promise. The film, an inside look at how the financial crisis created the Great Recession, had at its center a hedge-fund...
The Agency relationship – it goes both ways
I love my job – helping people find their next home, sell their home to meet their personal goals, and learn about this community that I’ve called home since 1996. Being a Realtor is much more than taking a client to see a house and writing up a contract. It’s a...
Are you house hunting?
I often hear from people that they aren’t “ready” to purchase a home – but what does that really mean? Often, the process of buying a home happens in several stages over time. First, think about why you want to move. Need more space? Less space? Want to be closer to...